Week 1 Reading - Relation to May's book

In relation to May's categories, "The Man in the Well" is associated with realist literature rather than romantic literature. According to May, the main differences between realism and romanticism are as follows:
Realism focuses on characters that resemble ordinary people. The plot is developed with ordinary events and circumstances. The ending is often unhappy. The writer uses common speech and dialect. The settings actually exist or have actual prototypes. The writer is interested in recent or contemporary life.
Romanticism focuses on "larger than life" characters. The plot contains unusual events, mystery, or adventure. The ending is usually happy. The language used is formal or inflated. The settings are imaginary. If actual settings are used, they are based on qualities such as exotic, strange, and mysterious. The writer is interested in history or legend.

"The Man in the Well" focuses on two very real topics: responsibility and identity. A group of nine year old children discover a man who is stuck in a well. The man asks the children to get adult help, but the children decide to bring him food and water and keep him in the well. The plot thus far suggests realist tones that pertain to responsibility. Nine year old children do not understand the meaning of responsibility, which is what makes this story so true to life. As the man learns each child's name, the children grow afraid and uncomfortable. Ultimately, they abandon the man, leaving him stuck in the well. Although this may seem like an appropriate ending for the story, Sher continues the story by ending with the following passage: "That night it rained, and I listened to the rain on the roof and my mother sobbing, downstairs, until I fell asleep. After that we didn't play by the well anymore; even when we were much older, we didn't go back. I will never go back." This unexpected ending may suggest a trick-ending, as discussed in May's book. Trick-endings are common is realist literature. This story seems to end before its actual conclusion, which gives the reader the freedom to choose an ending. As previously stated, realist literature often consists of an unhappy ending. "The Man in the Well" significantly justifies this component of realism.

Since this post consists of my initial thoughts upon reading the story, it is important to note that the narrator is one of the nine year old children who is telling the story as a recollection from his or her past.